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Education NewsWed, 16 Nov 2016 18:30:25 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2Rapper Common Performs at New York Charter School Rallyhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/rapper-common-performs-at-new-york-charter-school-rally/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/rapper-common-performs-at-new-york-charter-school-rally/#commentsFri, 30 Sep 2016 12:00:35 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=285136Thousands of parents, students, and educators were in attendance at a pro-charter school rally in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park earlier in the week, where they were treated to a performance by rapper Common. The rally, organized by the Families for Excellent Schools, was put together in an effort to push New York City to increase its public charter […]

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Kristin Decarr

Thousands of parents, students, and educators were in attendance at a pro-charter school rally in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park earlier in the week, where they were treated to a performance by rapper Common.

The rally, organized by the Families for Excellent Schools, was put together in an effort to push New York City to increase its public charter school sector. The group is asking that it double in size to reach 200,000 students by 2020. Organizer Yvonne Guillen said that around 60,000 students were enrolled in charter schools around four years ago, and has since grown to 100,000.

It is estimated that 25,000 school teachers, parents, and students from all five boroughs came together for the two hour #PathtoPossible rally and march.

“It’s just to incredible that we got so many of our families and, we don’t really communicate so much with all of the schools,” teacher Jackie Lenoff said. “But that all of us were able to gather, so many people, it’s really incredible.”

Organizers noted that the event was put together not only to celebrate the success that charter schools have had in the area, but also to bring attention to the need for additional funding for these schools.

While students in attendance skipped school in order to go to the rally, parents said their children were receiving an education by joining in a rally that is just as valuable as the one they would have received sitting in their classrooms.

“It’s the first time they’ve allowed the kids to attend these events, so I think it was a bigger education for them,” parent Ulises Velazquez said. “Because they see now what charter schools mean to us as parents.”

Families for Excellent Schools argued that doubling the number of students enrolled in charter schools would help to eliminate the achievement gap that is currently affecting many low-income children. One attending parent told Joe Torres for ABC7 that he hopes the event will cause politicians to take note that these schools should be available to benefit all children, adding that it should be every child or parent’s choice to enroll.

The highlight of the entire day may have been hip hop artist and civil rights activist Common, who not only spoke to the crowd, but also performed. “You’ve been shown the love to be able to get into these schools and excel as a student,” he told the crowd. The Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning rapper was on stage for almost 20 minutes, writes Ben Chapman for The New York Daily News.

“Every kid from every neighborhood deserves a great education, and New York City’s public charter schools are bringing this vision to life,” Common said. “I’m proud to support charter school families in their fight.”

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. also spoke in support of the event.

Earlier in the week, 19 elected officials signed a letter in support of charter schools throughout the city. The letter was signed by elected officials from every borough, including Jeffries and Diaz.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/rapper-common-performs-at-new-york-charter-school-rally/feed/0New York City Test Scores Improve, But Opt Outs Hold Stronghttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-test-scores-improve-but-opt-outs-hold-strong/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-test-scores-improve-but-opt-outs-hold-strong/#commentsThu, 04 Aug 2016 14:30:58 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=282097The latest standardized test score results show that students in New York City have made significant gains on state reading and math exams for 2016. Results show that 38% of NYC students between grades three and eight met state reading standards in 2016, an increase from the 30.4% who did so in 2015. Math test […]

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Kristin Decarr

The latest standardized test score results show that students in New York City have made significant gains on state reading and math exams for 2016.

Results show that 38% of NYC students between grades three and eight met state reading standards in 2016, an increase from the 30.4% who did so in 2015. Math test results show an increase from the 35.2% who passed in 2015 up to 36.4% this year.

In a statement, Mayor de Blasio noted how proud he was of the gains made by students throughout the city on the tests, which are used to make decisions concerning the promotion of students, evaluation of teachers, and creation of various policy.

“Our public schools are a cornerstone of New York City,” de Blasio said. “These results represent important progress and outline real improvements across each borough.”

While the city previously trailed behind the rest of the state on test results, this year NYC students performed slightly better than the state average on reading tests. This is the first time that New York City has outperformed the rest of the state in either math or reading tests since being linked to the Common Core standards in 2013, writes Ben Chapman for The Daily News.

Across the state, 37.9% of children met reading standards in 2016 in comparison to the 31.3% who did so in 2015. Meanwhile, 38.1% passed math tests in 2015, which increased to 39.1% this year.

However, state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia noted that the tests underwent numerous changes in 2016. Elia said that due to this, not much information can be gathered from yearly comparisons, writes Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times.

The tests were shortened in 2016 and time limits were done away with after opposition to the difficulty level of the state became widespread in 2015. Elia said that both of these factors could have led to the increase in test scores.

“Because of the changes in testing, it’s not exactly a perfect comparison,” Elia said. “And even with the increases this year, there remains much work to be done.”

At the same time, the number of students across the state who refused to take the exam increased this year, with more than one in five not participating.

Across the state, 21% of students opted out of the tests in 2016, a slight increase from 2015. Meanwhile, 3% of city students were found to have skipped the exams via absence this year, up from around 2% in 2015.

This year is the third consecutive year that parent groups have organized a testing opt-out movement due to concerns over the high-stakes linked to the exam and the tougher Common Core standards the tests are now based on, writes Jon Campbell for Lohud.

Looking at gains made by black and Hispanic students, black students who met reading standards increased from 19% in 2015 to 26.6% this year. Hispanic students also made gains in reading, going from 19.8% to 27.2%. However, an achievement gap still exists as these students try to keep up with citywide improvements.

Charter school students were found to outperform traditional public school students in both reading and math tests in 2016. Charter school students who passed the reading exam went from 29.3% last year to 43% in 2016, while math scores rose from 44.2% to 48.7%.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-test-scores-improve-but-opt-outs-hold-strong/feed/0Google, New York Libraries Collaborate on CS First Programhttp://www.educationnews.org/technology/google-new-york-libraries-collaborate-on-cs-first-program/
http://www.educationnews.org/technology/google-new-york-libraries-collaborate-on-cs-first-program/#commentsThu, 30 Jun 2016 17:00:54 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=280149New York City’s public libraries will be hosting the Google First Computer Club free program for elementary and middle school students to learn coding basics. 26 libraries in Queens County will be hosting the free club this summer with more joining in the fall. The purpose of CS First, which was created last year to […]

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Jace Harr

New York City’s public libraries will be hosting the Google First Computer Club free program for elementary and middle school students to learn coding basics.

26 libraries in Queens County will be hosting the free club this summer with more joining in the fall.

The purpose of CS First, which was created last year to teach computer science in schools, is to increase computer confidence in students grades four through eight and to show them that the field is relevant to any career and interest.

The CS First club was announced at the Children’s Discovery Center at Queens Central Library in Jamaica, NY, reports Christina Vercelletto of the School Library Journal. Speakers included former New York City mayor David Dinkins, Google’s head of external affairs for New York and New Jersey William Floyd, and the president and CEO of Queens Library Dennis Walcott.

Floyd said:

We need more coders, more computer scientists, and we need them to be as diverse as our beautiful city. Don’t just be consumers of content, but creators. Any one of you can be the next [Google founders] Larry Page or Sergey Brin. In fact, I’m counting on it.

Dinkins, who is known as a library advocate, spoke about his time as mayor in the early 1990s:

Even then, we did know that public libraries served a greater purpose than as a repository of books and magazines. For one thing, they were one of the only places some residents had air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. [That was part of the reason why library operation was increased from five days a week to six.] About three and a half people knew we had done it, but that’s not important. What’s important is that we did it.

Over 900 kids are signed up for 300 summer spots, which will be filled by lottery due to the high demand.

One of the students in attendance at the announcement event, 13-year-old Megan, learned that computer science could be used in just about every activity. She said:

I’m going to see what computer science classes are offered in high school, and take them.

According to the Queens Library website, the curriculum includes modules on animation, art, fashion and design, creating projects for friends, game design, music and sound, and interactive storytelling. The lessons are given via instructional videos, and teach the coding language Scratch, which was created by MIT. Each module is available for free online.

Anyone can sign up to be a CS First “guru” even if they have no previous computer science experience. 20 high school students are being trained in computer science to help teach others at the library and to get high school credit as well as experience for college applications.

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Jace Harr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/technology/google-new-york-libraries-collaborate-on-cs-first-program/feed/0NYC Bill Provides Schools with Menstrual Hygiene Productshttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/nyc-bill-provides-schools-with-menstrual-hygiene-products/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/nyc-bill-provides-schools-with-menstrual-hygiene-products/#commentsTue, 28 Jun 2016 13:00:25 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=280027Dozens of women advocates joined New York City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-Queens) on the steps of City Hall to announce new legislation that guarantees the women of New York City public schools, homeless shelters, and jails free menstrual hygiene products. The bill was passed by the City Council unanimously and ensures that women who need access […]

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Grace Smith

Dozens of women advocates joined New York City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-Queens) on the steps of City Hall to announce new legislation that guarantees the women of New York City public schools, homeless shelters, and jails free menstrual hygiene products.

The bill was passed by the City Council unanimously and ensures that women who need access to pads and tampons will get them at no cost. Now, the only step left is gaining Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature, which should be obtained during this month, according to Sarah Grossman, writing for The Huffington Post.

“This package is remarkable,” Ferreras-Copeland told the crowd. “It is the only one of its kind, and it says periods are powerful. Menstrual hygiene products are as necessary as toilet paper — and no one is freaking out about toilet paper.”

This legislation will mean that New York City becomes the first city in the country to take a proactive stance on providing menstrual hygiene products to women in need.

Over a female’s lifetime, the cost of tampons, pads, and medicines for bloating and cramps can add up to an approximate $18,000.

This expense is the reason why lawmakers targeted the 79% of public school students who live in low-income families, women from low-income and minority families who are incarcerated, and homeless women who often have to choose food over hygiene products.

“Some women are living paycheck to paycheck,” Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, vice president at NYU School of Law, told The Huffington Post. “And when you can’t buy tampons in bulk at Costco, or you can’t carry around a huge amount of them, say, if you’re homeless — you end up paying more.”

The 300,000 students in NYC public schools who cannot afford menstrual products are likely to be unable to attend school if they are without the necessary products.

The legislation will cost the city roughly $4.2 million during the first year. The cost will likely drop to approximately $1.9 million after year one.

Before the new legislation, a pilot program took place at a Corona, Queens high school and then expanded to 25 schools in the Bronx and Queens. Public middle and high schools already have emergency supplies of tampons and pads, usually kept in the nurse’s office. The new bill will require that the products are available in bathrooms.

Inmates are often not given enough products and are have been degraded by officers when they request hygiene products.

Any woman who is in NYPD custody for over 48 hours will also be provided with pads or tampons if requested, reports Gothamist’s Emma Whitford.

Lineyah Mitchell, 17, a senior at Brooklyn Tech, said the policy will be a relief to girls at her school. She added that if a girl forgets to bring pads to school, she has to find someone who has some pads — otherwise she does not have an option.

A female student can go to the nurse, says Mitchell, but if she goes between classes it is almost certain she will be late to class since there is only one nurse for 6,000 kids, writes Aidan McLaughlin of the Daily News New York.

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Grace Smith

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/nyc-bill-provides-schools-with-menstrual-hygiene-products/feed/0Complaints Allege NYC Schools Fail on Sexual Assault Caseshttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/complaints-allege-nyc-schools-fail-on-sexual-assault-cases/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/complaints-allege-nyc-schools-fail-on-sexual-assault-cases/#commentsThu, 16 Jun 2016 12:00:12 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=279375New York City’s Department of Education has been accused of failing when it comes to sexual violence and harassment prevention within the public school system. Attorney Carrie Goldberg recently filed two complaints requesting that an investigation be opened by federal officials with the US Department of Education and Department of Justice into the city’s DOE. The […]

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Kristin Decarr

New York City’s Department of Education has been accused of failing when it comes to sexual violence and harassment prevention within the public school system.

Attorney Carrie Goldberg recently filed two complaints requesting that an investigation be opened by federal officials with the US Department of Education and Department of Justice into the city’s DOE. The complaints allege that schools throughout the city continuously discredit and punish students who are victims of sexual assault.

A previous complaint had been filed by Goldberg in November 2015 on behalf of a third girl. The complaint is currently being investigated by the Office for Civil Rights.

“It is our strong belief that these incidents are indicative of institutionalized deliberate indifference to the needs of black female victims of sexual assault ‘educated’ by the New York City Department of Education,” Goldberg wrote to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

According to Goldberg, all three girls she is representing were “formally or informally suspended’ from the Brooklyn public school system, reports Andrea Cavallier for PIX11.

“Whether by official act or omission the end result is that sexual assault victims suffer twice in [New York City Department of Education]; once at the hands of the individual that attacked them, and again under the heel of a bureaucracy that is required to act in their best interest,” the complaint filed on June 4 reads.

The complaint filed last year was the result of a story that had been reported by Buzzfeed News stating an eighth grader at Brooklyn’s Spring Creed Community School had been dragged from the bus stop she was waiting at to an alleyway where she was forced to perform anal and oral sex in April 2015. A video of the occurrence was recorded and shared by the male student involved, writes Kate Taylor for The New York Times.

Goldberg, who filed the complaint on behalf of the female student and her family, said that the school had simply told the girl to stay away from the school after the video of the incident went viral, writes Mary Ann Georgantopoulos for Buzzfeed.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/complaints-allege-nyc-schools-fail-on-sexual-assault-cases/feed/0New York City’s Elite High Schools to Benefit from Diversity Pushhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-citys-elite-high-schools-to-benefit-from-diversity-push/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-citys-elite-high-schools-to-benefit-from-diversity-push/#commentsWed, 15 Jun 2016 12:00:49 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=279418The New York City Department of Education announced a series of reforms meant to expand minority enrollment at elite high schools in NYC to be implemented throughout the summer months. Officials say that although black and Hispanic students account for 68% of city school students, they only make up 11% of the student body at specialized […]

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Kristin Decarr

The New York City Department of Education announced a series of reforms meant to expand minority enrollment at elite high schools in NYC to be implemented throughout the summer months.

Officials say that although black and Hispanic students account for 68% of city school students, they only make up 11% of the student body at specialized high schools. There is also a large difference in the number of black and Latino students that take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, SHSAT. In total, 22% of black and Latino eighth-graders took the exam last fall in comparison to 52% of their Asian and white peers.

In total, six new initiatives were announced by City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña late last week that seek to increase access and diversity at the eight specialized high schools in the city, including the nationally-ranked Staten Island Technical High School.

Initiatives include an outreach team that will meet with individual black and Hispanic students who perform highly at the junior high school level to push them to apply to the elite schools throughout the city. Team members will also offer tutoring for minority students to help them with the SHSAT entrance exams in order to increase their chances of being admitted through the DREAM program available to sixth and seventh-grade students, writes Selim Algar for The New York Post. In all, five outreach specialists will be hired by the DOE.

The SHSAT will also be administered on a school day, rather than on a weekend, in an effort to increase the number of students who take the test. Test preparation will be offered to eighth-graders through after-school programs.

The Discovery Program, available to students who receive scores within a range underneath the qualifying score on the SHSAT, will also be worked on in order to increase its scope.

“Our specialized high schools need to better reflect the diversity of our neighborhoods and our city while maintaining their high standards, and this strong package of reforms is an important step forward,” Mayor de Blasio said.

“This is about equity and excellence for all of our high performing middle school students regardless of their ZIP code and background,” Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said. “We’re going to increase diversity without lowering any standards; to the contrary, greater diversity will help all our students succeed,” she added.

The program is expected to be funded through $2 million in state grants. The initiatives are set to be in place before students take the SHSAT in October at a cost of $15 million through fiscal year 2020.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-citys-elite-high-schools-to-benefit-from-diversity-push/feed/0Success Academy Cancels Pre-K Plans in de Blasio Funding Flaphttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/success-academy-cancels-pre-k-plans-in-de-blasio-funding-flap/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/success-academy-cancels-pre-k-plans-in-de-blasio-funding-flap/#commentsMon, 06 Jun 2016 11:00:58 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=279048New York City’s largest charter school operator, Success Academy, has canceled upcoming prekindergarten classes for more than 100 students after losing a fight with the de Blasio administration over funding. Success Academy’s founder, Eva Moskowitz, an impassioned former city councilwoman, chose to cancel the classes slated to begin in September rather than submit to the […]

New York City’s largest charter school operator, Success Academy, has canceled upcoming prekindergarten classes for more than 100 students after losing a fight with the de Blasio administration over funding.

Success Academy’s founder, Eva Moskowitz, an impassioned former city councilwoman, chose to cancel the classes slated to begin in September rather than submit to the city supervision that the public funding would have entailed.

“It is unbelievably sad to tell parents and teachers that the courts won’t rescue our pre-K program from the mayor’s war on Success in time to open next year,” said Moskowitz. Additionally, an open letter signed by other Success Academy officials similarly criticized the de Blasio administration. “If you truly wanted all kids in this city to have access to a life-changing early education, then you wouldn’t steal that opportunity from our kids. Mr. Mayor, we are profoundly disappointed in you.”

According to Kate Taylor of the New York Times, when New York City began its universal prekindergarten program, the city required all providers to sign a contract to ensure a level of quality. Moskowitz, however, refused to sign the contract, saying that the city does not have the authority to regulate charter schools.

Then, in February, New York’s State Education Department intervened and said that the city had the right to require charter schools to sign the contract. Still resistant, Success Academy decided to bring the lawsuit to the State Supreme Court. That decision will not come in time for Success to prepare for its next school year. Without the contract, Success Academy is ineligible to receive public funds.

The battle over prekindergarten is the latest flash in the ongoing feud between Moskowtiz and Mayor de Blasio, a critic of charter schools. After assuming office, the mayor blocked three Success schools from getting classroom space, and Moskowitz responded by unleashing $5 million worth of television advertisements against his administration.

New York City’s Education Department said that, in light of the cancellations, it will work with students who were accepted into Success’s prekindergarten classes and fine placement in programs elsewhere. Of note, the other 13 charter school organizations offering prekindergarten classes in New York City signed the contract, and, unsurprisingly, the de Blasio quickly noted this fact in its public statements on the matter.

To date, the Success Academy school network collected $34.6 million for the financial year that ended in June 2013, the most recent year for which data is available. Selim Algar, a writer for the New York Post, notes that Success planned to open two more pre-kindergarten programs next years.

Despite the regrettable outcome, Moskowtiz remained dauntless. “The contract forced on charter schools by the administration strips charters of their autonomy over curriculum, regulates the school day down to the minute,” she said in a statement.

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/success-academy-cancels-pre-k-plans-in-de-blasio-funding-flap/feed/0ExpandED Schools Working to Improve End-of-Year Attendancehttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/expanded-schools-working-to-improve-end-of-year-attendance/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/expanded-schools-working-to-improve-end-of-year-attendance/#commentsTue, 24 May 2016 17:00:53 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=278418A new report by ExpandED Schools highlights the fact that learning time is often cut short as the school year winds down, with elementary and middle schools in New York City showing as much as a 6% drop in attendance between April and June. Missing time in school is the problem that ExpandED Schools is working to […]

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Grace Smith

A new report by ExpandED Schools highlights the fact that learning time is often cut short as the school year winds down, with elementary and middle schools in New York City showing as much as a 6% drop in attendance between April and June.

Missing time in school is the problem that ExpandED Schools is working to correct – the group’s motto is “Close the learning gap. Open the world.” The organization wants to build education enrichment into a lengthened school day to include extra time for learning activities. By doing so, students can have improved educational outcomes both in school and also in future endeavors.

ExpandED has offered specific procedures that will increase learning time and attendance statistics – and the results of these plans will include accelerating performance in the next grade level, minimizing summer learning loss, and increasing student engagement.

Data shows a 5.8 percentage point difference between April attendance rates and June levels. And in schools that are struggling, the attendance numbers are even more troubling. In these at-risk schools, students miss an average of 1.6 days a month between September and April. But young people in these schools are missing an average 3.3 days in June. The 3.3 average attendance rate is three times higher than the rates in April, which is the month of state exams.

Leaders in ExpandED Schools were asked for insight into raising monthly attendance for schools that had significant absences from April to June, along with ideas for learning from schools that showed high monthly presence of pupils throughout the academic year. Teachers were asked to share what they thought were the reasons for the attendance drops. High school teachers said that the events of early June or mid-June, such as prom and graduation, were part of the problem.

Teachers are focused on using the last two weeks of school to clean their classrooms, finish paperwork, finalize grades and complete end-of-year projects, all of which takes momentum away from learning.

At times, the report says, parents take students out of school to get a head start on summer vacation, which reinforces that many parents seem not to value the final days of school. This activity appears to occur more often at schools that lean toward winding down during the month of June.

Field trips, though sometimes an incentive for attending the last weeks of school, can cause low-income students, students with behavioral infractions, or those with poor attendance records to stay away from school on trip days. And many after-school programs do not run their classes into the final weeks of the academic year.

ExpandED Schools were shown to be less likely to have these attendance barriers and offered a variety of strategies that would result in making every day of school valuable.

From April through June at PS 247 in Brooklyn, every fifth-grader is partnered with a kindergarten pupil to mentor and to act as a buddy. At the end of the school year, they are given a “Leader in Training” certificate.

Some schools have spirit weeks to build positive school culture, to keep kids engaged, and to meet non-academic goals. Other schools use the preparation and participation in end-of-year shows to keep young people invested. The students become enthusiastic and use the performances as a farewell to the school year.

At MS 223 in the Bronx, there are four school trips planned for the month of June. The objective is to engage young ones and to include all students. Other schools are moving end-of-year ceremonies to the final days of school.

ExpandED Schools add that engaging parents, teachers, and students in the effort to keep attendance high at the end of the year was imperative. This effort might include awarding parents with monthly certificates for getting their children to school on time, having a staff team at the schools’ doors to greet students each morning, or publicly acknowledging students who have good attendance.

When a school offers new instructional techniques, accelerated lessons to prepare students for the coming school year, or offers applied and hands-on learning activities when they are winding up their school years, the likelihood of pupils wanting to be present increases.

Hedy Chang, Executive Director of Attendance Works said, “We applaud ExpandED Schools for producing this insightful look into an under-recognized piece of the attendance puzzle. We’ve seen similar patterns in other school districts, but no one has documented how some schools avoid this slump. We hope city and district leaders will use the strategies outlined in this brief to recapture this critical learning time.”

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Grace Smith

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/expanded-schools-working-to-improve-end-of-year-attendance/feed/0New York City Schools Confiscating More Weapons Than Last Yearhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-schools-confiscating-more-weapons-than-last-year/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-schools-confiscating-more-weapons-than-last-year/#commentsWed, 18 May 2016 16:00:03 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=278100An increasing number of guns and knives have been taken from students in New York City schools which, for the most part, do not have metal detectors. But the New York Police Department and Mayor Bill de Blasio do not seem to want the public to know this fact. Susan Edelman, reporting for the New […]

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Grace Smith

An increasing number of guns and knives have been taken from students in New York City schools which, for the most part, do not have metal detectors. But the New York Police Department and Mayor Bill de Blasio do not seem to want the public to know this fact.

Susan Edelman, reporting for the New York Post, writes that unarmed school safety agents have passed on pictures and information to union leaders who have shared them with the media.

Gregory Floyd, president of the agents union Teamsters Local 237, says that some safety representatives have let the press and public know about the presence of the weapons. These security officials have been reprimanded for their actions.

Now the school guards have been grilled by NYPD officials and have been threatened with the loss of their vacation days if they leak information again.

“The purpose is to intimidate and to make an example of them so other safety agents will be afraid to report crime,” he told The Post.

“If there’s no information to report, de Blasio can come out with his skewed numbers that crime is down and schools are safe, and parents don’t get a true picture of what’s going on,” he said. “We shouldn’t be in the secrecy business. We should be in the business of making sure weapons brought to school doesn’t happen.”

Between July 1, 2015 and May 8, 2016, a total of 1,751 pieces of weaponry have been confiscated in NYC schools. During the same time in the last academic year, 1,394 guns, knives, and other weapons were recovered, which is 26% less than this school year.

A pro-charter organization, Families for Excellent Schools, filed a lawsuit recently charging that schools are not protecting students from bullying and violence. The latest statistics confirm the group’s fear that more weapons are being brought into the city’s schools.

At this time, the mayor is seeking an extension of the mayoral control of NYC schools that has been in place under a measure that expires in June. The City Hall’s School Climate Leadership Team is considering the removal of metal detectors from schools. Floyd is seriously opposed to this move.

The NYC Department of Education has a new policy that discourages suspensions and has instituted an experimental program that requires teachers to give “warning cards” when a student is conducting herself or himself in a disorderly manner or is in possession of marijuana. Such behavior would have previously resulted in a criminal summons.

The Daily Mail reports that President of the New York City Parents Union Mona Davids stated that the problem is being covered up and the city’s children and teachers are being put at risk. But Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña noted that school safety agents are dedicated to keeping New York City schools safe for students.

Media and politicians, says Bob Owens, the editor of Bearing Arms, refuse to admit that it is not a gun problem that is causing chaos in the country, but a “thug culture problem” instead.

Owens refers to the New York Post article and adds that the thug culture is trying to intimidate other children so they will comply with their demands. NYC public schools, he says, are not arresting or suspending the kids who bring weapons to school, but are following the directions from the mayor that allow this culture to expand.

He continues by pointing out that Democrats need to take on the thug culture and discontinue their acceptance of the criminal violence lifestyle.

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Grace Smith

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-york-city-schools-confiscating-more-weapons-than-last-year/feed/0NYC’s de Blasio Asks for 7 More Years of Control Over Schoolshttp://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/nycs-de-blasio-asks-for-7-more-years-of-control-over-schools/
http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/nycs-de-blasio-asks-for-7-more-years-of-control-over-schools/#commentsMon, 09 May 2016 19:00:11 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=277696New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visited lawmakers in the state’s capital in Albany on this week to ask legislators to renew control of city schools to the mayor’s office. But his visit gave one lawmaker an opportunity to criticize the mayor’s fundraising pursuits. “Convince me. Convince me why I should vote for mayoral control […]

Author information

Grace Smith

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visited lawmakers in the state’s capital in Albany on this week to ask legislators to renew control of city schools to the mayor’s office. But his visit gave one lawmaker an opportunity to criticize the mayor’s fundraising pursuits.

“Convince me. Convince me why I should vote for mayoral control with all the allegations that are going on in your office,” state Sen. Terrence Murphy, a Republican from the Dutchess County area of the Hudson Valley asked the mayor as he testified before the state Senate Education Committee.

But de Blasio said his administration was responsible for improved numbers of high school graduations and extended pre-K across the city. He added that the federal inquiries alluded to by Murphy have not been examined in court, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Mara Gay.

“In democracy we don’t judge by allegations, we judge by facts and through due process,” he said.

The allegations concerned allies of the mayor who gave money to Putnam County’s Democratic committee that was used to fund Justin Wagner (D), Murphy’s 2014 opponent.

The probe is investigating whether de Blasio and his supporters violated campaign laws concerning funding for this 2014 attempt at helping Democrats win control of the New York Senate.

But the subject at hand was the mayor’s request that the mayor’s office have seven years of control over the school system in NYC. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has already suggested a three-year extension of the policy.

Last year, de Blasio requested permanent control, but was given a one-year period of authority. Now the renewal must be sought again.

The mayor quoted former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said when he was in office that the board system “makes no sense.”

De Blasio had garnered supporters in recent weeks among religious, nonprofit, and business leaders. Dozens of his allies sent letters to legislators and the governor asking them to agree to multi-year extensions of the policy. The current control by the mayor’s office ends in June.

NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña accompanied the mayor to Albany and stated that having to plead for mayoral control was an unnecessary diversion from what was most important, which she said was “running the city’s schools,” writes Kate Taylor of The New York Times.

Glenn Blain writes for the New York Daily News that only the Democrat-led Assembly has agreed with de Blasio about the extended control of city schools by the mayor. The GOP-controlled Senate is still undecided.

De Blasio was queried by State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) about the city’s recent teachers union contract and why the union granted lump sum payments along with annual raises.

“Maybe you’re not as fiscally sound as you think you are,” DeFrancisco said.

De Blasio’s answer was that lump sum payments were made as a recompense to union members for the years during which they had no contract.

The lawmakers asked difficult questions, and some continued to be dubious of mayoral control. But the mayor stated:

“There is no viable alternative that has been proven to work as well.”